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A Summer Shorty Sock Club

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feel good yarn handdyedSilverSpun yarn is so much fun to work with. I used it over the winter in a pair of gloves, which takes advantage of the conductive power of silver (you can still interact with phones and other screens with them on).

But silver yarn is also said to have antibacterial properties, which makes it perfect for using in a pair of summer socks.

Knitting Sarah is hosting a summer sock knitalong with Feel Good Yarn’s summer sock club yarns. The club gets you three shipments of yarn hand dyed by Backyard Fiberworks, and people who take part in the knitalong on Sarah’s Ravelry page and successfully complete a pair of short socks during the summer will be eligible for prizes. (You don’t have to use this yarn or any particular pattern, by the way, it just adds to the fun.)

If you’re interested in joining the sock club, it’s open through Thursday (May 14). The knitalong will start on June 1 and run through the end of August.

I’ve knit one pair of really short socks (as in, they have no leg at all) and there’s a pretty short pair in my latest book. Do you ever knit short socks?

[Photo via Feel Good Yarn Co.]

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Comments

  4. Angel – you can join the KAL by going to the Friends of Knitting Sarah group on Ravelry. She has all of the particulars there for the Summer Sock KAL.

Have you read?

Knit a Spiky Balaclava

Not too long ago my daughter and I had a discussion about what a chestnut really looks like. The nut itself is small and brown, of course, but on the tree they’re covered with this weird kind of spiky, kind of fuzzy shell. It’s a wonder anyone ever figured out they were edible.

If you didn’t know that, you might wonder why this project is call Chestnut balaclava, but now you know.

This fun design from Yevheniia Pyroh is covered with spikes just like a chestnut shell, and is even the same color, though of course you can make yours whatever color you like. It uses two strands of fingering weight yarn held together (which it says is fingering weight but you could try a light/DK yarn and see if you get gauge with it if you’d rather).

There are two different design options in the pattern. One is a more fitted balaclava style hat (it doesn’t cover the face but does go around the neck) and a looser fit hood.

It’s worked primarily in garter stitch, with shaping done by knitting and purling in the same stitch and through various decreases (including a knit 3 together).

The pattern is charted but also explained in words. It’s worked flat to the size you want, and then joined into a hood shape with ribbing at the neck. The opening for the face is finished with I-cord.

This hood/balaclava would definitely be a conversation starter and in different colors it might read more dinosaur than chestnut, which could also be fun. The sizing is totally custom so you can make it fit whatever head you’re stitching for.

If you want to try it for yourself (and I’d love to hear about it if you do!) you can download the free pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Yevheniia Pyroh]

Balaclava Knitting Patterns

Colorwork Balaclava Knitting Pattern [Knitting]